Ties
by polymorphine
Summary: Set after summer finale, Episode 5.11


Rachel gasps for air in sheer panic, watching Mike being dragged down the hallway, handcuffed, realization of what's happening hitting her like a ten ton truck.

"Oh my god, Mike" is all she can mutter when the elevator door closes, shutting out Mike's eyes, wide open from pure disbelief and confusion.

She just stands there, unable to move, to breathe, to think, when the other elevator door opens just moments after. Donna steps out, sighing heavily, looking dreadful after her unsuccessful hunt for Harvey, and her even more unnerving acquaintance with Harvey's therapist, who in her opinion was far too good looking for Harvey to be able to focus on his problems instead of her legs.

At least Dr. Agard left a professional impression on her, so she wasn't all too worried that his frequent sessions with her would lead into a direction they weren't suppose to go.

As she lifts her head, she sees an absolutely distraught Rachel, tearing up as their eyes meet across the corridor.

Donna accelerates her pace, she feels her stomach slightly dropping as she knows something very wrong just happened.

"Rachel, what's going on? What happened?" Donna asks, rubbing her friend's upper arm to unleash her from her absent minded state.

"Oh Donna" she whispers, tears breaking their way along her face as she says "It's Mike"

* * *

"Harvey." Donna storms into Harvey's office, now her eyes widened with panic and disbelief.

"Not now Donna." he states, his eyes locked on his desk, a bottle of scotch in an arm's reach and a box with what appears to be his Harvard diploma and his father's records sticking out of one end.

Of course Donna notices all those little yet so intriguing details in a millisecond.

"Harvey" putting more emergency in her tone, so that he looks up to meet her furious gaze.

"Donna, I had no choice." he sighs "Hardman and Forstman wouldn't have backed down by any chance, and I didn't want Jessica to pay for their vendetta on me. It was the only way."

"Harvey what are you talking about?" Donna's voice plastered with confusion, her eyes narrowed.

"I know you want to talk me out of this, but it's already done." he wipes his face with one hand, reaching for the scotch with the other, his eyes bloodshot, crossing hers.

"Harvey, what are you saying?" panic crawling out her chest breaking her voice.

She knows, but there is no way, no way that this is what he actually means, cause this is simply impossible, she tries to calm her running wild thoughts.

"It's gonna be ok, Donna, I'm just gonna open my own firm, Jessica waved the non-compete, so it's not gonna be a..."

"WHAT?"

Harvey looks up to her again, desolated and irritated as she just barked at him, interrupting his self designed security loophole phantasy. Jessica did nothing of the sort YET, he adds in his mind, trying to keep his shattered world intact, now completely smashed into the smallest pieces, and if not quite intact, at least with some glue in his back pocket.

Donna pushes her fingers fiercely through her red locks, basically falling down on his couch in the attempt to sit.

"This is not happening." she mumbles, gesturing towards the scotch bottle, covering her mouth, trying to keep herself from vomiting all over the designer carpet.

Harvey pours 2 fingers of scotch in a glass and puts it in her very unstable grip. She drowns the scotch in one shot, clearly not enough booze in the entire world right now, she thinks. But at least she has her voice back.

"Its Mike."

Harvey shakes his head, his eyebrow going up.

"I know, I know he quit, but maybe I can convince him to go work for me, something not involving breaking the law for a change." he smirks.

"Oh god." Donna puts her head into both her hands, completely lost and desperate, this is just getting worse and worse by the freaking second, shaking her head in disbelief, just raising it up enough to stare at the empty glass on the table in front of her. She couldn't look him in the eye right now.

He got the slight hint though, refilling her glass almost to the top, a little suspicious as to why she took this so damn bad as she was the one to leave his side fucking first, now anger running through his veins. This should even suffice her, his temper taking over.

"Donna,..." he puts as much annoyance in his tone as humanly possible "...can we just skip this bullshit, I have an office to clean out and unless you wanna help me packing up my balls" he raises an eyebrow and makes it sound really dirty "... I really don't have the.."

"Mike got arrested for fraud."

* * *

"What?" Harvey's stomach drops, not only to his knees, but all the way down from the 51st floor to rock bottom.

"What fraud, THE fraud?" his face a wrinkled mask when she finally looks up to him, not before taking a mouthful from the scotch.

"Conspiracy to commit fraud." she looks Harvey in the eyes, her own watering up. Grabbing the glass in her hand as if it was a life belt.

"When?" Harvey's instincts are taking over. He feels the panic attack coming like waves crashing on the shore,each wave bigger than the one before, but he doesn't have time for this now. He needs to focus.

"Just 10 minutes ago, I found Rachel in the hallway, they arrested him, Harvey, in handcuffs, like a criminal."

Donna sobs, the events taking a hold of her, her mascara slowly smearing all over her cheeks.

He can't see her cry, he never could.

This is really not helping, Donna, he thinks, as another wave of panic comes crushing down on him, forcing him to lean on the desk, sweating like a pig and trying not to vomit all over the designer carpet.

Just please not in front of her, his already dazed mind produces, as he slowly sinks down to his knees, unable to stand any longer.

"Oh my god Harvey!" her voice dripping from concern as he feels her arms around his chest, trying to support his stand.

"Its nothing, please dont call 911." he manages to mumble, remembering Mike's first reaction as he witnessed this a while ago.

"I know, I won't." she says, more calmly now.

They both sink down to the ground, her arms still wrapped around him, when he slowly realizes what she just said.

"You know."

He will surely just spill all of the before consumed scotch all over her white Victoria Beckham dress NOW, as he feels her grip intensify, one hand gently stroking his hair in the neck.

Just for one minute, he thinks, just one minute more til I stabilize, as this seems to be more helping than the shitty as apparently useless meds he's taking.

* * *

He shoves his eyes open, finding his head placed on her lap.

How the hell did it got there and more importantly, goddamnit, the office had glass doors for god's sake and he was lying here in fetal position in his 5000 $ suit, on this extremely overpriced but also really fluffy carpet.

In a quick attempt to rise up, he nearly passes out, his head feels as if someone was repeatedly beating it with a Baseball bat, hitting hard, going for a home run.

He maneuvers himself on the couch, reaching for the half full, or better to say half empty amber liquid filled glass in front of him, the rim covered by Donna's pinkish lipstick.

He conquers control of his hand, able to bring the scotch to his lips, covering his tongue with the malty flavour.

Donna gets up from the floor and out of her quite uncomfortable position, straightening her dress, out of reflex, and the absence of an idea what to do next.

She notices his afflictive posture, like all what makes him the man he is vanished into thin air.

"Harvey" she says in the most gentle tone, almost a whisper.

He can't look at her, can't deal with her pitiful judgemental stare that she just surely gives him now, absorbed by his own shame for his evident weakness and yes, pity for himself.

Tears fill up the corners of her eyes as she sees this once undefeatable man crushed to the bone.

She places herself beside him, covering his hand with hers. He feels like ice under her touch, sending shivers up her arm, making her glitch.

"It's ok, Harvey." She clears her throat, her voice heavy from the lingering tears under the surface.

Harvey finally turns his head around, preparing himself for the sure as hell disappointed Donna. But when his eyes meet hers all he can see is remorse.

"I'm so sorry."

She means it from the bottom of her heart.

She had no idea how bad it really hit him, her leaving him to work for Louis. First she concluded that his acting out was a mere power struggle between him and Louis, that he just couldn't stand the thought of losing something that in his egocentric mind clearly belonged to him in the first place. As if she was a trophy they could brawl about.

When she found out about the panic attacks, but also about him being in therapy for it, she just assumed he was dealing with it just fine, getting the help he needed, maybe even a little glad that something, or in this specific case someone, her to be precise, pushed him out of his comfort zone and into exploring his knee deep buried issues.

But seeing this man, that she knew for 12 years now, that she fought his battles with and for him, side by side, day in day out, the man that she knew better than he knew himself, seeing him destroyed and vulnerable like this, cracked her open like a piñata, flooding her with sorrow and despair instead of sweet candy.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She knows perfectly well, why, this is Harvey Specter, absolutely allergic to any sign of deficiency, but she still has to ask, she can't wrap her head around the fact that even after all those years of her being his companion and confidant, he would not dare to entrust her with this major crisis.

"Donna, please, I can't do this right now." He shakes his head, rubbing his forehead as if he wanted to eliminate the wrinkles forged in by the years, and especially by the last 3 months.

Donna removes her hand from his, rattled by his harsh tone.

"What are we gonna do?" forcing up the subject that was more immediate, letting the other one rest for now.

Harvey takes another small sip to clear his head from the persistent pounding of the aftermath of the panic attack, trying to figure out how to be the goddamn lawyer that he actually is.

OK Specter, first things first, he thinks. He needs to get Jessica, he needs to get Louis, he needs to get Mike for fucks sake! Damn kid!

* * *

Louis is on his way to Rachel's office, holding several files he needs her to work on, still a bit shaken down by the repercussion of the vote being held earlier this evening, and all that lead to this vote in the first place, him being a major part of this disaster to be possible to occur at all.

But Harvey as always saved the day and my ass along with it, he thinks to himself, raising the corner of his mouth to a little mischievous grin, relieved that his best friend obviously forgave him for his misdeeds.

He opens the door and enters, only not to find Rachel behind her desk, but sitting jammed between two file cabinets, hiding her from the view of people passing her glassed office.

His eyebrows mold into an unsevered crossbar as he is squeezing them together in irritation.

He notices the trails of tears mixed with this weird black substance women always put on their eyelashes, of which he can't recall the name and probably never even bothered to know as he was unsure of its mysterious purpose anyway. But he knows how this substance reacts with tears, and concern washes over him.

"Oh my god Rachel, what happened?"

Rachel is staring at the wall behind Louis, her arms around her knees, looking like all life was sucked out of her.

He can barely understand her as her voice cracks saying "Mike got arrested."

Louis' eyebrows go up in an immediate rejection of what he just must have simply misheard.

"Wait, what?" his voice going a pitch higher and definitely several decibels louder.

As Rachel shows no intent to correct her previous utterance, still eyeballing the wall, he lets her words sink in.

"Mike arrested? A-arrested for what?" he stutters, still unable to believe those words coming out of his mouth.

Rachel rests her head on her arms, embracing her knees tighter, wetting her caramel coloured skirt with her tears.

"Fraud." she murmurs into the soft, light brown material.

* * *

Louis rushes across the hallways of Pearson Specter Litt like an unleashed, being held captive and poked for decades, big brown bear wearing a significantly too small and far too blue suit, and an absolute misfitting greenish coloured tie.

Yet he was a badly dressed bear with a great mission, his destination clearly Harvey's office.

He passes Gretchen's empty desk and pushes the glass door open only to find the office empty - again? Just to make sure, he looks under the desk and the conference table, already enlightened from his previous experience with Rachel's seemingly unoccupied office.

He notices the lipstick stained glass on the replaced couch table, reminding him of the predecessor he crushed into splinters with his own head, right after Harvey punched him in the face, just in between eye and lip, causing him to trip and fall backwards into the glassed couch table.

He sours up by the thought of it, breathing heavily in with anger, his face formed into a frown, his back then injured lip still stinging, not yet completely healed - or maybe he was pushing his lips too fiercely against his teeth, agonized by the memory of those recent events.

Either way, Harvey was not in his office, and wherever the hell he was, most likely celebrating his newest glorious victory with several playmates of the recent Playboy magazine and bathtubs full of Crystal, there was an emergency that needed Louis' attendance.

* * *

Jessica sits on her desk, with the black dress mere a silhouette in the darkened room, her head facing the New York skyline, revealing itself in her magnificently placed windows.

"What are you saying, Harvey?" her tone deep, filled with resignation after this really, pardon, shitty day to be exact, with only one good outcome as Hardman, this filth, finally had to back the hell down. It only cost her her best and most loyal partner, her oldest friend and, the little brother she never had.

And almost her firm, had not he sacrificed his position and career for her and Pearson Specter Litt, now soon to be Pearson Litt only.

Harvey has his hands in his pockets and his head pointed to the ground, appearing like a little boy who just really seriously messed up and now is too afraid to confess to mommy, she thinks as she turns around, trying to catch a glimpse in his eyes unfolding the unvarnished truth without his recognition.

Based on the assumption that she understood him correctly, shitty was not even in spitting distance to describe what kind of day this was.

* * *

Donna hears her new bosses steps echoing across the hallways as he is approaching Jessica's office in a rapid manner. After all, she is still Donna, and she knows it's Louis.

She sits in the corner of Jessica's light coloured couch, pressing a beautifully embroidered pillow to her chest, holding on to it with the same affliction she did before with the scotch.

She tries to remove the trails of the tear/mascara mix from her cheeks, probably only making it worse in the process, she assumes.

She closes her eyes as the door is slammed open, almost shattering the glass.

"Jessica...oh Harvey, you're here too..."

Louis didn't notice him as Harvey was leaning against the wall, the room only lightened by three endued lamps, transforming him into a bare shadow.

"Louis." Harvey does not move his head in his direction, his posture stiff, the fate of events and its ground shaking consequences residing profoundly as an unbearable weight on his shoulders.

Jessica gets up from the desk and closes the distance between her and her newest partner, and supposedly the only one to remain.

"You've heard." Jessica doesn't like tiptoeing around the subject at hand, noticing clearly the same panic in Louis' eyes as she already had in Harvey' s and Donna's moments before.

"We have to handle this unfortunate incident immediately, or our own asses will be on the line as well."

* * *

"But what if this panic attack thing of yours happens in court?"

"You had a goddamn heart attack in court, Louis!"

Harvey doesn't want to have this quarrel whether it's a good call him being Mike's lawyer under the given and indeed critical situation. Particularly as he was a one man show now, separated from the firm and the capacities it offered. What a timing! Pure coincidence? He wasn't so sure of that.

"I'm not gonna be just a bystander in this!"

"And neither will I!" Louis retaliates in a hot blooded outburst, his face passing through 50 shades of red to stop at an almost scarlet nuance.

Harvey examines the few remains in the scotch bottle on his desk, deciding it was time to open another.

He gets up, pain flashing through his lower back, still feeling a bit nauseous from the attack, or was it already the scotch? He can't tell and couldn't care less as well.

In the process of cracking the next bottle open, he feels his phone vibrating, instantaneously reaching for it in his side pocket, his heart skipping several beats. As he peeks at the screen, it's neither Mike or the DA's office, just a text from Donna saying that she brought Rachel to Harvey's apartment as agreed.

He is still not content with this solution, but as Donna pointed out, it was the most practical one. Rachel couldn't be alone now, she refused to go back to her and Mike's place, and Donna's little apartment was, well, little and had only one not very comfortable couch. Compared to that Harvey's spacious loft had more than enough room for the three of them. So, after a 15 minutes lecture as to why this is the next best idea, Harvey just gave up and gave in, handing his keys over to Donna and calling Ray, his chauffeur, so he would pick them up.

Harvey dials the DA's office number once again, flooding his glass with the freshly opened scotch.

And once more he hears the automated notification: 'You've reached the District Attorney's office. Your call is placed after our open hours. Please call back between...'

Harvey just hangs up, seduced to throw the phone against the wall or shove it up someone's ass, preferably the DA's. But ok, Louis' already would suffice as well.

"Why isn't he calling?" Louis wonders, more addressing this to himself than to Harvey, but Harvey is still inclined to answer.

"I really don't know Louis."

The nearest interpretation though twitches his guts.

* * *

Mike sits in a grey coloured interrogation room, a wall completely a one-way mirror, reflecting his worn out image, confronting him with the absoluteness of his situation.

He focuses on his mirrored eyes, absorbing his entire face with desperation. After he can't stand his own reproduction anymore, his eyes shift to his hands, still in handcuffs. No one yet bothered to take them off.

How long was he even already here? He lost track of time, the events after his arrestment a sheer blurr. With one exception, that was Rachel's eyes meeting his, filled with confusion and dread.

He almost falls off his chair when he's startled by the door opens squeaking, his palms starting to sweat as he watches the detective approach him, leaning on the table in between them with one arm.

"Mr. Ross, you are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud." he states.

Mike swallows what feels like ash in his mouth and nods.

"So I've heard."

"This is quite a serious accusation" the man adds, his bushy eyebrows rising as to invest more gravity into his words.

"I'm aware of that."

Oh and how aware he was. Perfectly aware.

"I assume your rights have already been read to you? You can make your call now, and I suppose it will go straight to your lawyer?" The detective shoves Mike's cell phone across the table into his cuffed hands.

"Forgot about that." he mumbles as he unlocks the handcuffs releasing Mike's wrists from their metal embrace.

* * *

The night has already dropped its black satin curtains over the city, as Harvey waits for Ray outside the office building. The sensation of the cold wind striking over his face calms him, almost mimicking a gentle female touch. The same sensation he felt as Donna caressed his neck in the middle of his panic attack, amending his condition.

He checks his phone again, just to make sure. No call. He swipes to messages, with the intention of contacting Ray as he was pretty damn late, noticing Donna's previous text instead, perceiving that he was about to go home only to find two emotionally destabilized women residing there.

He finally sees his drive come into sight, slowly reducing its speed, coming to a halt right in front of him.

He enters the back seat, when an idea pops into his head, instructing Ray to make a little detour to Hell's Kitchen.

Harvey walks into this shitty Thai place that Donna loves so much, the restaurant bursting with people, the atmosphere steamy and turbulent, waiters running around with tablets full of exotic smelling and actually quite mouth watering looking food.

He inspects the menu with the eyebrows risen, deepening the wrinkles on his forehead, noticeably clueless about what would be a good choice and what Donna, and Rachel of course, would consider eatable.

He ends up ordering fried rice with crab meat, wok curry with chicken, glass noodles with beef and cauliflower, and chicken curry puffs along with two bottles of Chardonnay, remembering that he was running low on wine in his alcohol repertoire back home, which the girls most likely drained by now anyway.

As the preparation will take a while, he orders a beer at the bar, jamming himself in between an older, grey haired corpulent couple and a group of hipsters, with beanies, beards and unnecessary horn-rimmed glasses.

He takes a first sip from the ice cold, but unfortunately some obscure Thai beer being placed in front of him, allowing his eyes to wander around, even enjoying this too noisy place a little, as it was loud enough to blend out the turmoil in his head and his mind starts drifting away, replaying the chain of events that lead up to this specific Thai restaurant eventually.

* * *

 _7 years ago_

 _Donna is chewing on a pencil, monitoring the computer screen presenting Harvey's schedule for today, as he arrives, instantly perceiving the unusual view of Donna being not aware of his presence._

 _He silences his steps, sneaking up to her from behind, a full blown smirk on his face, his excitement rising as he now has the once in a lifetime chance to catch her off guard. He made it behind her chair without her noticing, or at least he sees no sign that would indicate the opposite. He carefully bends over, bringing his lips to her left ear as close as he dares without alarming her with his breath, unintentionally interacting with her auburn strands of hair._

 _He feels the impulse to strike the strands back, revealing her neck just for the pure pleasure of delighting his eyes with the marble, soft and vulnerable skin, this specific urge leading him on the verge of comparing himself to Edward, this sparkling in daylight like a diamond farce of a vampire, a character in this new movie he had been forced to watch couple of weeks back, escorting his 23 year old blonde model date to the cinema. The movie sucked, but the sex afterwards was quite decent._

 _Just as the witty remark that he came up with to startle Donna is lingering on his tongue, he hears her sigh._

 _"Harvey what is it?"_

 _Shit._

 _"Your cologne gave you away like 10 feet ago."_

 _Her head turns, his nose being slightly touched by her hair in the process, his nostrils tingled with a subtle scent of lavender._

 _He brings himself back into an upward position, displeased by the failed attempt._

 _"You really should consider not using half the bottle each time." her eyebrow rising up as do the corners of her lips, now her turn to give him a full blown smirk._

 _He puts his hands in his pockets, adding a sceptical look to his face, breathing out with annoyance._

 _"Alright Donna, but well, just so you know, it's the same cologne you gave me for last christmas, and I still didn't run out of it." He shrugs, as to proving his point and undermining hers._

 _"God Harvey, you're such a baby. Can't take the tiniest critique." she rolls her eyes in aversion, but her tone sounds playful._

 _He frowns and shakes his head, turning to his office to leave the scene of his defeat, as she clears her throat with the endeavour to make him stop._

 _"Harvey..." she presses her lips together, obviously a little nervous about the subject._

 _"Just spit it out Donna. As you perfectly know I have a meeting in 15 minutes that you even scheduled yourself!" and I still want to get a coffee before that, he completes the sentence._

 _"Ok..." she slides her chair towards him, folding her hands in her lap, returning his gaze._

 _"Well, I have to leave work a teeny tiny bit earlier today.." her voice going up as if to implicate a question, awaiting a turn down. But as Harvey just nods, also not looking infuriated as she apparently was expecting, she continues. " My mother and her new boyfriend are coming over for dinner tonight "so we can get to know each other"." she embodies the quotation marks with her fingers, her voice dripping with sarcasm._

 _"But honestly, I believe she just wants to brag that she can get a 15 years younger lover boy and dwelling on the matter that I can't even get a 15 years older one." she rolls her eyes, frustrated._

 _"Well, for all its worth, you can sure as shit get a man your age, and a ridiculously handsome one as well." he grins, leaning forward to her, his eyebrows going up and down, shamelessly flirting._

 _"Oh and about that..." she bites her under lip, just about to spill the beans "I also might have mentioned that I actually DO have a boyfriend..." she pauses, shrugging, "...but that's kind of not the case." She takes a deep breath. "So, I might be a bit in trouble here, and as I just double checked your schedule for today, and you have the evening off..."_

 _"Let me guess." Harvey helps her out as she can't finish her sentence for what feels like an eternity, astonished by her own suggestion._

 _"You want me to jump in and play the part of your very own lover boy." he chuckles._

 _"Well, not really a boy, obviously."_

 _"Haha, the you're so old jokes are getting old themselves." shaking his head, still chuckling though._

 _"And if you really want me to do this, you better play nice or I might change my mind."_

* * *

 _Harvey's finger is hovering over the doorbell of apartment 206, balancing the exquisite flower bouquet ment for Donna's mother along with the Macallan 15 bottle for the boyfriend. If it would be Donna's father joining them for dinner, it of course would have been the Macallan 25. But the new boyfriend, not worth it._

 _He takes a deep breath, preparing himself for the stage performance ahead. But still he can't help but flash back to the last and only time he was here before, after he quit working for the DA's office, along with Donna, her 'I don't sleep with men I work with' rule unhinged._

 _He doesn't allow himself to retrospect about this night very often, though it surely was a night he would never forget, not even one single second of it. But right now was most certainly the worst timing to call it to mind._

 _Donna opens the door almost instantly after the door buzz, her eyes widened with panic, her hair a mess and the left side of her face sprinkled with what looks like blood, but most likely was just tomato sauce._

 _"Oh dear lord, thank you. I just thought it would be them already." She turns around going back to the kitchen, leaving Harvey to find his way inside on his own._

 _He deposits the flowers and the scotch on the couch table, abashed about the not very warm welcome. He looks around her living room, it being just the same as he memorized it. Nothing has changed._

 _He drops off his coat on the couch, approaching the kitchen where Donna is looking into a big pot filled with tomato sauce, a ghastly smell lingering in the air._

 _"Jesus, what is this?" Harvey sniffs, wrinkling his nose in disgust._

 _"Dinner." Donna responses rigidly._

 _"I'm sure as hell not gonna eat this!"_

 _Donna makes an attempt to wipe the sauce from her face, her eyes watery, reaching for the glass of white wine standing on the counter, nearly consuming it in just one enormous sip._

 _"It's not supposed to smell that way you know."_

 _"I was kind of hoping for that."_

 _He takes a peek into the pot, and a peek at Donna._

 _"What was the plan?"_

 _"Chicken arrabbiata."_

 _"I see it ended up chicken shit."_

 _She puts her face in her palms, she can't help but erupting in laughter._

 _"Oh god!" she wipes the tears off her face, caused by the outburst. "I'm so screwed."_

 _"What the hell happened? You never appeared to me as a shitty housewife who can't cook."_

 _"I can cook, ok?" she sighs, giving him an evil stare as he puts his smirk on._

 _"Yeah, i can see that. And definitely smell it." He looks at her, softening his smirk into a smile._

 _"I guess the dinner party is ruined. Along with the chicken." she adds, pressing her lips together, enforcing an amused look as if she wouldn't care. Pretty obvious that this wasn't the case._

 _"When are they supposed to be here?" he asks, as he himself arrived almost 40 minutes earlier than she instructed him, hoping he could help her out with something, and also giving him more time to drink up some nonchalance, as he was distinctly nervous about meeting her mother. Not so much about meeting the cougar hunting boyfriend though._

 _"In about an hour, but it's not enough time to start it all over anyway, the chicken alone needs like 45 minutes to prepare, let's not even talk about the spicy tomato sauce, and to top it all off, I even had to promise my mom that I would serve her boyfriend's favourite dish, as a 'welcome to the family' gesture." she responds, shifting her eyes to the poor result of her attempt, her features disclosing the discouragement she is feeling._

 _"Then we have more than enough time." Harvey adds, relieved that he still has the chance to save the day._

 _"I know a guy."_

 _"What guy, Harvey?" Donna asks skeptically, unsure as to how this can possibly help the situation._

 _"A guy that owns one of the best italian restaurants in town, and it's not even 15 minutes away." Harvey clarifies, glowing from the smug self-satisfaction about his quick fix for the obstacle._

 _"Go do your Donna magic.." gesticulating towards her rumpled appearance, "I'm gonna clean the mess up in here and call Ray." , reaching for his cell phone._

 _Donna stands there, astonished about his eagerness to help her out, a big fat smile emerging on her face._

 _"Thank you Harvey." she whispers, deeply touched._

 _"Yeah yeah now come on we don't have much time here. Shoo!"_

 _He basically pushes her out of the kitchen towards the bathroom, and after she closes the bathroom door, not without giving him a wide grin and a conspiratorial wink, he finally calls Ray, briefing him quickly. Then he removes his jacket, hangs it on a chair nearby, rolls up his sleeves and starts with the damage control._

 _After 10 minutes, just as he wipes away the last evidence of the crime committed on this chicken, he hears her high heels clacking behind him. He looks over his shoulder, and takes in a sharp breath, as she looks absolutely stunning in the hugging her curves like a glove dark denim Levi's jeans and the bordeaux red wool pullover from Moschino, with a two pearl strings embellished neckline, the strings tied together by a little coquettish velvet bow on one side, her lipstick matching the colour, her hair put together in a messy knot, but the messy was clearly intended. To sum it all up into an appropriate compliment, Harvey flirtatiously whistles as words are hard to come by to express his admiration properly._

 _"Well, thank you." She smiles, pleased with his reaction._

 _She walks over to the front door, grabbing a beige coat from the rack._

 _"Ready to go as I see." Harvey puts his jacket back on, heading for the door as well._

* * *

 _"What the hell..."_

 _Harvey gives Donna a puzzled glance._

 _They are standing in front of the italian restaurant, except that it wasn't italian any more, now being a Thai restaurant with a long, complicated foreign name. As it seems, there was a tiny change in ownership since the last time Harvey was here._

 _Just as Harvey is about to apologize to Donna for fucking up, imagining that this turn of events wouldn't please her to say the least, she turns to him, looking at his befuddled face, slowly losing control of her features, and then doing something unexpected: she bursts out with laughter. After some moments Harvey joins in, they both laugh hysterically, each time when they look at each other laughing even harder, being hit by the pure irony of this whole episode._

 _After a couple of minutes they slowly calm down._

 _"Puh, ok." Donna takes a deep breath, just to giggle in the middle of it, wrecking the calming effect it was supposed to have. "So what now, Mr. 'I know a guy'?"_

 _Harvey shrugs, having no plan b, which was extremely untypical for him._

 _"Alright then." Donna straightens her back to ready herself for the next deed. "Let's go grab some dinner!"_

* * *

 _Ray has to open the car door for Harvey and Donna, as they both are heavily loaded with several bags of Thai food, ending up ordering 8 different dishes as they couldn't decide._

 _Luckily the restaurant was half empty, the order ready in under 20 minutes, that they spend sitting at the bar, ordering several Tequila shots to take the edge off, Donna feeding Harvey with information about her mother in the meanwhile, making him break out in laughter several times, both feeling slightly less tense most likely due to the Tequila, simply enjoying each others company._

 _Back at Donna's apartment, they quickly empty out the take-away boxes, arranging the food in Donna's pots and pans, to make believe that she just cooked the whole meal herself, just in time before the doorbell rings. Their eyes intertwine, both breathing out intensively and sharing a nervous smile, preparing for the main show act._

* * *

 _Mrs. Paulsen really liked the flowers, Stanley, the new boyfriend, really liked the 100$ scotch, and Harvey really liked Donna's mother, understanding now from where Donna got her wit._

 _Seated around the couch table with aperitifs, Harvey and Stanley nipping on the Macallan, Mrs. Paulsen, who insisted he should just call her Gabrielle, and Donna both went for a dirty Martini._

 _"...and then the next day Stanley showed up with a dozen red roses, just as beautiful as the ones you gave me, Harvey." Gabrielle gives Harvey a sassy wink. "Well and that was it, we are inseparable ever since." she bestows Stanley with a shining bright smile, him returning it not so shiny and brightly, showing his slight embarrassment over the far afield going story of Gabrielle after the simple question Harvey asked 20 minutes ago being 'How did the two of you meet?'._

 _"But well, enough of us, how did you two lovebirds meet?" asks Gabrielle, her glance shifting between Donna and Harvey, both instantly looking like someone just kicked them in the guts._

 _"Well, why don't you tell the tale Harvey, I barely heard you talking at all today." Gabrielle addresses Harvey with an encouraging smile, taking a sip from the Martini glass, leaning back in anticipation._

 _Harvey throws an alarmed gaze at Donna, which she answers with a minimal almost unnoticeable shrug meaning 'just go with it, I can't get you out of this, and by the way, aren't you supposed to be the best closer in the city?'_

 _"We met at a bar."_

 _He decides to go with the truth. "She invited me for a drink. First I thought, well, you know, but all she wanted from me back then was a job at my desk. So we worked together for some time, and well, what can I say, turns out a job wasn't the only thing she got out of it." He presents Donna with a naughty smirk, she replying it with a sarcastic one._

 _"How sweet but not as romantic as our story, hon." Gabrielle massages Stanley's knee._

 _"Ok mom, we got it." Donna gets up, approaching the kitchen. "Harvey, why don't you give me a hand over here. I bet everybody is starving by now."_

 _Harvey joins her behind the counter, she immediately grabs his arm to pull him closer to her._

 _"You could have stopped after the 'we met at a bar' part."_

 _He raises his eyebrow and chuckles. "You didn't really think I would let you off the hook that easy, did you, HONEY?"_

 _Donna rolls her eyes, playing annoyed, secretly enjoying their habitual quarrels._

 _"Ok, SWEETHEART, hand me the dishes and be useful for once."_

 _"How on earth are you going to sell this as chicken arrabiata?" Harvey points at the wok chili pepper chicken in a pot on the stove, totally obviously being an asian looking dish, as do the entrees consisting of green papaya salad and the calamari and shrimp salad, the rest being fried rice with chicken curry, rice noodles with shrimp, pork ribs in bean paste marinade, fried baby calamari with vegetables, beef with chili curcuma sauce and of course, lots of rice. Very italian indeed._

 _"I need another Tequila." Donna giggles, reaching for her Martini instead._

 _As Donna is serving the salads, her mother gives her a concerned look that Donna is pretending not to notice, pouring some rosé wine for starters._

 _"Donna, dear, this looks delicious, but didn't we agree on italian?"_

 _As Donna is about to open her mouth for a response, and although Harvey is really curious what the hell that explanation could possibly be, he decides to jump in and take the hit._

 _"Yes, I'm very sorry about that, this is completely my fault. You see, the problem is, I really can't stand italian food at all. I know this might seem strange to you, but I even hate pizza ever since I was a kid."_

 _Donna almost spills the wine across the table as Harvey puts his arm around her waist, her being completely baffled._

 _"And my honeybun here did her best to serve all of us a great dinner, didn't you darling? Oh, she spend hours in the kitchen, even left work early and all. So I hope you don't mind the slight change of plans, and indeed it looks delicious, my love." He smiles at Donna, tapping her wine glass with his._

 _"Yes it really looks great!" Stanley admits, taking a mouthful of the salad._

 _"To the cook!" Harvey raises his glass, giving Donna a conspiratorial wink._

 _A cell phone starts buzzing in the middle of the toast._

 _"Oh excuse me for one second, I really have to take this, it's the interior decorator, I'm waiting for his call for 2 days now!" Gabrielle answers the phone, stands up and creates some distance to not disturb the dinner round by placing herself on one of the two armchairs in the living room._

 _"Yes, excuse me for one second too." says Stanley, leaning in to Harvey whispering "Where's the bathroom?"_

 _" First door on the left." Harvey points in the direction, just to make sure Stanley wouldn't relieve himself in Donna's bedroom instead. He takes a bite from the calamari shrimp salad, when Donna leans in and in a secretive manner whispers in his ear "To the cook? Since when do I look like a little, middle aged bald asian guy with the name Chaow Chaow Pew?"_

 _Harvey looks at her staggered expression and can't help bursting out laughing, causing the piece of shrimp he's been chewing to fly across half the room just to land on the back of Gabrielle's head, stuck there in her dark brown voluminous hair sculpture being held together by extensive use of hair spray, now being topped off by a shrimp accessory, even matching her coral red costume._

 _They both followed the shrimp's flying route and now that it arrived at its unlucky destination, they cover their open mouths in shock, giving each other a bewildered stare._

 _"Ok, that was impressive." Donna mumbles, focussing on the shrimp. "I don't think she even noticed."_

 _She starts chuckling, when Harvey shakes his head in disbelief quoting "This is by far the most unfortunate dinner party I've EVER been to."_

* * *

Donna tries to find a comfortable position on Harvey's black leather designer couch which is a harder task than she first imagined. Who the hell buys something that uncomfortable just because it's from a famous designer? she reflects, as her eyes wander to her 5 inch Manolo Blahniks, indulging her to rest the case.

She pours the rest of the wine into her glass, taking another sip from the Merlot, when she hears the elevator droning. As his steps on the wooden floor come closer, she turns her head in his direction.

"You kept the cactus."

He gives her a smirk, putting the bags with the Thai take-away on the kitchen counter.

"And as you can see, it's even still alive."

"That doesn't mean anything, it's just really hard to kill a cactus."

They smile at each other, both of them missing their old habitual quarrels that have been so rare these days.

"By the way, I brought some food from this shitty Thai place you love so much, just in case the ladies are hungry. Speaking of ladies, where is Rachel?"

"She fell asleep, I basically had to drag her across the floor to your other bedroom. Trust me, she looks like a flyweight but is definitely a middle- to heavyweight, especially after two bottles of this fine grape juice over here." she points at the Merlot bottles on his couch table.

"Good. I mean that she could fall asleep, not good that the both of you drained my wine deposit." he catches her gaze, his eyebrows up in amusement.

He reaches into one of the bags, revealing a Chardonnay bottle followed by a "Taa-daaa".

"How did you know?" Donna smiles at his poorly performed magician stunt, yet feeling solaced by his attempt to lighten up the mood.

"I'm Harvey." mocking her classic 'I'm Donna' statement, making her laugh.

"Well, I am actually starving, so let's see what you got here." Donna gets up from the couch, approaching the kitchen counter, and in a keen venture to place herself elegantly on top of it, trips and almost knocks off a chrome pepper grinder.

"There are also chairs if you haven't noticed." Harvey tries to swallow down a giggle, pointing to the barstools in front of the counter.

"Chairs are lame." Donna states, preparing for another try.

"Ok, let me give you a ride then."

Harvey goes around the kitchen island, puts his hands on her waist in a tight grip, lifts her up in the air and positions her on top of the counter with a "Whoop there you go.", his hands lingering on her hips for a few seconds too long.

"That was better than a roller coaster." she claims in a seductive, but also not very sober voice.

Harvey chuckles, ignoring the flirtive occurrences, distracting himself with unpacking the meal.

"Oh you got the chicken puffs!" Donna exclaims enthusiastically, stealing one out of the box, placing it right into her mouth.

"Mmhhh, these are so good. You should try one." stealing another, now waving it around Harvey, teasing.

He gives Donna an intensive glance, trying to figure out what she was up to, before biting into the chicken puff in her hand. Whatever she was up to, both can play the game.

"This shit is amazin'." Harvey's words muffled by chewing.

"I told you, this place is gold!" Donna takes a bite from the rest of the chicken puff she just fed to Harvey. She can't exactly point the finger on what has gotten into her, except maybe too much wine, but as the teacher of the acting class she took years ago instructed, sometimes you just have to go with the flow. Besides, whatever this was, it felt good.

Harvey places the reheated fried rice with crab in front of her, along with a pair of chopsticks.

"I think it's time for milady to change to a more appropriate pose for the feast."

She shows a frisky disappointed face expression, but before she is about to slide down the counter that she misused as a sitting device, Harvey comes around again, reaching out his arms, letting his hands rest just under her chest.

"If you got a ride up, you get a ride down."

He wants to misinterpret his behaviour as a concern for her safety as she is a little tipsy, not to say a little drunk, but as he slowly puts her down, her body far too close to his, her dress brushing against his shirt, her scent spiced with hints of jasmine, vanilla and, of course, lavender, attacking him, he can't disguise it any longer. It even must be written all over his face, because as she finally is back on the ground, her eyes are searching his with inevitable thoroughness, a question forming behind them.

"The crab is getting cold." Harvey gives her a fake smile, releasing her waist from his hands, taking the plates, directed to the dinner table.

"Please." he points to a chair almost begging, as she still isn't leaving the spot where he left her, her demeanour confused and infuriated. Donna takes a deep breath, and slowly starts walking towards the table. He pushes her chair back, just earning an annoyed look for his gallant maneuver.

"Can you get the wine please, thank you." despite the polite words, it sounds mean.

As he goes back to get the wine as she asked, he wishes he could slap himself in the face, really hard, for the sole purpose of punishing himself for being such an idiot, once again backing out when it went in this _other_ direction with her, the first time when after the night they spend together he told her he doesn't want to lose her, and then asked her to work for him instead.

The second time when he told her he loved her and then just left and wasn't willing to explain this any further, culminating in her leaving.

The third strike is an out, he warns himself.

He brings over the opened wine in a cooler along with 2 glasses, infusing hers first. She takes a long sip before separating the clinched ends of the chopsticks, loading them with some rice and crab meat. He follows her lead, shoving the food in like it was his last meal on death row.

"How is Rachel doing?" he inquires after a while, unable to endure the silent tension any longer.

"How do you think she's doing, Harvey?" her voice shaking, as if she is about to erupt in fury.

"She is doing like shit. He didn't call her, he didn't call you, she can't reach him, you can't reach him, he was arrested and we can't even find out what the exact thing is he's charged for. All we can do is to sit in this purgatory until the DA's office opens tomorrow morning, or he finally calls for his lawyer, that would be you, only to find out you left the firm and are in no position to be of great use to him. But it can even get better if the police shows up here, arresting YOU for conspiracy to commit fraud, along with Jessica, and even Louis! "

Donna's eyes start tearing up again.

"So now you're crying because of Louis? Louis? Is this a joke?"

Harvey rises from his chair so rapidly and abruptly, it gets knocked over in the process, creating a deafening bang hitting the wooden floor. He covers his mouth, his body in suspense from the outrage he is perceiving, pacing back and forth, on the verge of letting his fist meet the concrete.

"Harvey, look at me!" she pleads, but as he shows no intention to do so, she slowly pushes her chair back in order to stand up, kicks off her high heels and approaches him, her steps barely causing a sound.

"Harvey."

She embraces his angered, blank stared and hurt face with her palms, moving it towards hers, so she could look him in the eyes, and he in hers.

"Do you wanna know what I was thinking the entire time when Rachel sobbed her soul out in my lap on your couch over there, for hours? Of course I feel for and with her, of course I'm worried sick for Mike, and of course I'm worried for Jessica and Louis. But do you want to know what I was really thinking? I was thinking what if they arrest you, too. What if you go to jail for this reckless stunt of hiring a fraud 5 years ago, me willingly being your accomplice instead of talking some fucking sense into you? The thought of you going to prison, how did you put it back then, makes me want to drop to MY knees, Harvey."

She closes her eyes, releasing the tears. "And what Rachel is going through right now, will be nothing compared to what I will go through, if this happens."

"Then I'm gonna make sure it won't come to that."

He searches her hazel eyes for something he can't define, a doubt maybe, hesitation. He wants to reassure her that he will handle this, that he won't disappoint her, along with himself. In an impulse, he wraps his arms around her, placing her head between his neck and collarbone, striking her hair back from her shoulder, wrapping his fingers into the red mass, his thumb softly caressing the tender spot behind her ear.

"How?" she mumbles into his shirt.

"I'm Harvey Specter. I always find a way. You of all people should know that." he murmurs into her hair.

She slightly moves her head up, her lips grazing his neck up to his jaw bone, her fingers clawed into his back, tugging his shirt. He reacts instinctively, pulling a bit away from her, his nose striking her cheekbone, feeling her heavy breath on his lips, merging with his own...

* * *

"Donna?" Rachel tiptoes into the living room, in sweatpants and an old worn off grey t-shirt, clearly belonging to Mike first before she used it as a nightgown, her eyes swollen, narrowed to slits against the unaccustomed light.

"Donna, I heard some loud noise like something fell, are you ok?" She gets around the corner of the dining room, just to see Donna, sitting on the dining table and Harvey, facing the New York skyline in the window, both looking like they just saw a ghost, and a chair on the floor.

"Oh Rachel, you're up."

"Yes, Donna, I'm up." stating the obvious.

"Harvey just tripped over the chair, I guess that's what woke you up." Donna gives her a very irritating smile as it is a nervous one, which is something Rachel never seen her do before.

"Rachel,.." Harvey turns to her, his gaze also very irritating as it is also a nervous one, and she never has seen it before either. "I brought some din.."

"Are there bad news from Mike?" she interrupts him, as they are both so obviously agitated about her sudden entrance, something must have happened.

"No. No bad news." Harvey shakes his head. "No news at all."

"How can this be? You are his lawyer! Do something!" Rachel's eyes filling up with moisture, her outburst leaves an awkward silence behind.

"Rachel, there is nothing he can do right now." Donna walks over to her, embracing her in a firm hug. Rachel buries her face in Donna's shoulder, to mute her sobs.

"Look, you should eat something." Donna suggests gently, striking Rachel's hair.

"I'm not hungry."

"Yes you are. Sit down, I'll fetch you a glass of wine and some rice noodles,ok?" Donna throws Harvey a commanding stare, and he immediately starts to take care of reheating the noodles with beef and getting another wine glass from the upper shelf.

"Didn't we finished the wine already?"

"Harvey brought some more, and some food too. Remember i told you about this fantastic Thai restaurant? Well, now you can try it out for once! I recommend the curry chicken puffs, it's like they were made in asian heaven." Harvey gets the hint instantaneously, placing the half empty box with the chicken puffs in front of them, also refilling the wine glasses with some Chardonnay.

Rachel takes a sip and then a bite, just for Donna to shut up about it, but then actually enjoying the flavour of food, suddenly feeling extremely hungry.

"You were right, these are awesome." Rachel admits between two bites, already reaching for the next chicken puff.

"See, I told you. You are hungry." Donna smiles at her, giving Harvey a look meaning 'where the hell are the noodles?'

He serves the noodles, glad that Rachel got her appetite back, his trip to the Thai wasn't in vain after all.

He pours himself a Macallan 18, as he needs something stronger than the Chardonnay, leaving it for the ladies.

* * *

Harvey steps outside on the terrace, longing for a breeze of fresh air, overviewing the lights and the pulsating life taking place 16 floors down. Normally he would consider himself on top of things, but today he could only envy the carefree strangers roaming the streets under him.

What the fuck just happened? Or didn't happen? Or was about to happen? Or wouldn't have happened anyway even if Rachel didn't walk in with incredibly precise but also tremendously shitty timing?

Jesus, he sounded like a girl. Nothing happened, nothing did not happen, nothing was about to happen and nothing would have happened, stop imagining things, Specter. God!

He nips on the scotch, reaching for his phone, checking it again. Nothing. Ok, then it's time for plan b, he thinks, speed dialing Louis.

Louis picks up in an instant.

"Harvey, any news? Did he call you?"

"No Louis, he did not."

"Oh god, so I guess it means what we feared the most it means. And now it means it. Really means it! Oh god..."

"Louis I need you to calm the fuck down over there. We don't know anything for sure, unless you found out something you're not telling me. And you can pray to all the angels all you want, if this is the case, I'm gonna smash you like a cockroach.."

"No, no Harvey, I - I'm not hiding anything, I couldn't find anything either, we are on the same side here, please, it's Mike, and I'm on board and you are my Captain Nemo."

"Ok Louis, I believe you. Now stop stuttering like an imbecile and tell me what you got."

"Harvey I'm telling you, I got nothing. This is a fucking nightmare! I can't put the associates on this, I have to do it all by myself, tons of files research, it's like finding a needle in a haystack."

"What about Jessica? Did she say anything that would indicate she changed her mind on the matter?"

"Nothing to me, I was hoping you talked to her and now calling with good news."

"I wasn't hoping for it anyway."

"Yeah, she was pretty determined when she said you will not..."

"Yes I remember what she said."

"And the firm will not.."

"YES I know Louis, Jesus!"

"I might get in trouble for this, you know."

"You might get in trouble one way or the other, and you can't count on me to save your sorry ass this time. But thanks, Louis. I really appreciate your loyalty, even if you won't benefit from it at all."

"Harvey, you are my best friend and you know that. And Mike, he is like a prerogative son to me. Of course I will do everything in my power, you can count on me, one two three, I'll be there.."

"Stop singing Bruno Mars, Louis. Call me if you find anything, really anything. Thanks again."

Harvey hangs up, taking a deep breath, cold air flushing his lungs.

Ok, that was not what he hoped to hear, but at least it was better than hearing that Louis jumped the sinking ship, referring to his Captain Nemo comparison.

Harvey couldn't do anything right now, a very anomalous circumstance. All he could do is trust Louis, with Mike's life. Not a good combination.

He made a deal with Louis, that it was just between the two of them, not risking to involve and compromise Donna or Rachel, for them not being forced to lie in court if their plan went south. It was the only way to guarantee their safety.

Harvey hesitates to go back inside, facing Rachel's disappointment as he apparently doesn't do shit to help his protege. When he does all he can, all being cruelly inadequate in this case.

But it's getting chilly and he ran out of scotch as well. Also not a good combination.

* * *

"How can I even go to work tomorrow?" Rachel desperately shakes her head, reaching for the Chardonnay.

"I really don't know, and also I think that you shouldn't. We could finally get something we can work with and probably gonna be forced to be agile and able to act on the spot straight away, and being at work makes that difficult. Besides, Louis commanded me to stay with you, and normally I would have argued about that, but for the first time I think he really had a brilliant idea."

Donna bestows Rachel with a little, tired smile, trying to catch a covert glimpse on the terrace where Harvey is still cruising around, talking into his cell phone.

What is he up to now, she wonders, and what was he up to before? Or what was she up to before herself?

Donna gets absorbed by the very fresh recollection, her mind deviates to those few seconds when she felt his hand in her hair, his thumb playing with her earlobe, making her weak in the knees from sensuous delight rushing through her entire body.

What the hell was wrong with her, did she lost her mind? Reacting to a man's innocent touch like a teenage girl, considering she didn't even reacted that way when she was a teenager.

But by all means, it did not feel innocent at all, and worst of all, asserting her sneaking suspicion of her flying over the cuckoo's nest, did she not make an attempt to..? Did they not almost...? What has she been just a breath away from getting herself into?

This was not very wise, and normally she wasn't the one doing something extremely stupid. Must be the nerves, causing her to lose her better judgement for a brief moment, Donna persuades herself.

"Donna, are you ok?" Rachel interferes in Donna's mental cinema, startling her.

"Hum? Yes, Rachel, sorry. I guess I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"You should get some sleep."

"We all should get some sleep, including you, Rach."

"I don't think I can." Rachel rubs her eyes, already looking like she is gonna pass out any minute now.

"You are already almost knocked out and I'm not going to drag you half across this loft again."

Rachel sheepishly smiles a little. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that."

"No need to be sorry, just consider yourself warned." Donna gives her a playful wink, placing her hand on Rachel's back. "Come on, let's tuck you in."

When Rachel is about to put the wine glass back on the table, it slips through her fingers and lands on Donna's lap, the remains of the wine leaving a yellowish stain on her bright white dress.

"Oh Donna, I am so sorry!" she exhales.

"At least it's white wine, so there is still hope." Donna rushes to her handbag that she placed on the floor by the couch earlier this evening, zips it open and lets her fingers wander through the chaos inside to find a tissue in order to remove the liquid from the cloth. Just after a few seconds she feels something tissue-like, but as she takes a glimpse on it's colour, far away from being white, she quickly retracts her hand. Thank god she noticed before trying to wipe herself with THAT, which would have been definitely a little embarrassing.

As Donna hears Rachel approaching behind her, hastingly stating "Here, I have a paper towel." , she pushes the handbag half under the couch with her foot, to guarantee the disguise of mentioned item.

"Thanks Rach!" Donna tries to rub out the moisture, realizing that it is hopeless after some moments.

She sighs, stopping the attempt to reduce the damage.

"I'm really sorry." Rachel's voice hollow from the held back tears emerging in her eyes.

"Oh Rachel, don't worry about it, it's just a dress! I'm more concerned about the Chardonnay spilled in vain." Donna's tone filled with false indignation making both of them giggle.

"Well, now let's make sure you get some rest without any further alcohol wasting incidents. Come on." Donna reaches out her hand to take a hold of Rachel's, leading her in the bedroom direction.

* * *

Harvey goes back inside, fairly relieved to find the room abandoned.

He approaches the master bedroom, not without collecting Donna's shoes from under the table, placing them in a corner near the door, and refilling his glass once more.

First he removes his tie, unbuttons his shirt, placing his clothes on a chair, as he doesn't have the strength or motivation to be anything more besides than a little sloppy with his attire.

He changes into a white t-shirt and black sweatpants for the night, before going back to the living room to finish his scotch, while overviewing the opaque velvet sky from his panoramic window.

He feels wired up yet also wrung out at the same time. But taking all of today's events into consideration, shit hitting the fan on multiple fronts in the matter of just a few hours, the vote, the unnerving therapy session, now Mike being arrested, him being unemployed, and his hands therefore bound, and to add a little sprinkle and a cherry on top of the shit cupcake he has to chew on, the panic attack and, Donna.

Speaking, or better thinking of the devil, Donna walks in, stops for a second as their eyes meet, perplexed by the burning ferocity of his gaze. Donna clears her throat, noticeably hesitant.

"Rachel fell asleep again."

Harvey turns his head back to the scenery of the night being displayed in front of him.

"Good. It has been a hell of a day. She needs rest."

"Anything from Louis?"

"How do you know I called Louis?" Harvey gives her a gaze, his eyebrows going up in scepticism.

"Please, I'm Donna." her voice eager, spiced up with a chuckle.

He sighs, taking a quick glimpse over his shoulder in her direction.

"So far nothing we can use or even start to work with."

"So you both are going to ignore what Jessica said?"

Donna was a witness when Jessica unloaded her rage over the situation on Harvey and Louis. In order to protect the firm, herself and both of them with it, she declined her cooperation and help, instructing Louis to stay out of this as well.

And as neither Mike or Harvey were employees any longer, the firm wouldn't be a part of it at all. It was a harsh decision, but also understandable, Jack Soloff's attack on her managing partner position just a couple of hours in the past, the threat of Hardman still lingering over her head if this mess becomes public, giving him another opportunity to win back the firm.

Now teaming up in order to get Mike out of this fiasco, Harvey being responsible for bringing this fraud under her roof in the first place, one day being the reason the roof would collapse and bury her and her firm with it, she refused to reload Hardman's ammunition.

"Just because someone won't run into a burning building to save a puppy, it doesn't mean others won't as well."

Harvey shrugs, feeling betrayed by his former partner and his friend. He sure as hell didn't expect this reaction from Jessica. At least he had Louis on his and Mike's side so far, whatever that's worth, as it's Louis and no one could foresee how long his loyalty would last regarding Jessica's condemnation of this case.

Donna passes the table to get her half empty wine glass, placing herself with it on the couch once again, facing his turned back, as he still sweeps over the skyline.

"What happened, Harvey? Who ratted him out? Otherwise I can't explain this, somebody must have dropped the dime to the DA. Who even knew about it? It seemed like a not perfect but at least well kept secret to me, also one withstanding slight inquiries."

"I can name at least three people out of the top of my head who knew about this, all having shallow motive. But my number one suspect is Gerard, he has a shitload to lose and if Hardman or Forstman got to him, he wouldn't hesitate one bit to rat Mike out, as this kid never meant anything to him and he only kept quiet because I have leverage on him. Now if Hardman promised him the moon and my downfall along with it, sure as hell he would run crying to the authorities."

Harvey drowns the remaining drops of scotch, still avoiding eye contact with Donna.

"I can be wrong and god knows how many more people know about this charade that Mike didn't mention to me, but so far my money's on Gerard, involving Hardman, as this would be a really remarkable coincidence that Mike got arrested just after I handed in my resignation to get Forstman to back out."

"You have to talk to Rachel, Harvey. She might know something that you don't."

"I know that, Jesus! But she wasn't in any condition to even connect two coherent sentences tonight, so this has to wait until tomorrow."

"Yes, I understand that, and by the way, you can still call me Donna."

He finally turns around, puzzled, before getting the intended pun at last, putting a smirk on his face.

Donna smiles back, their eyes lock, the carefree moment fades, substituted by something more raw and reckless. The atmosphere between them condenses, creating an ominous tension.

The sensation of her breath against his lips flashes up in the back of his mind, his mantle of denial begins to crumble as he realizes that he didn't imagine things, that indeed something almost happened and that she was aware of it too.

Harvey already intends to come closer, minimizing the distance between him and her, as Donna breaks the spell.

"Do you might have something more comfortable I can slip in? The dress is killing me after all the Thai food, I can barely breathe. I didn't have the chance to run by my place to get to change, we just ran by Mike 's and Rachel's to grab some stuff for her. So, it's whether the dress or naked." Donna grasps too late that the use of the word naked was undeniably a remarkably stupid move, as she sees his eyes darken, being certain of how he will respond to that as in _'I prefer naked.'_

"I know you know what I was about to say, so there's no point in actually saying it."

Donna's alarmed eyes didn't go unnoticed by him, and although he feels a dash of disappointment, he decides not to push things where they, at least in her mind, don't belong.

Seemingly she was not willing to proceed in this direction, not tonight and most likely, never. Why should she? He made his intentions more than clear, or didn't he? As she loves to point out, she is Donna, and she should know this type of shit.

If she decided not to jump the train and prefered to remain on the platform, that's up to her. Maybe she thought he is not serious, or not ready, or whatever bullshit she might be thinking. But he was on this goddamn train, evidently, he even bought a ticket so it would all be legit, fighting through the puddle of mud of his problems so he could actually be a man she could be with, and he could be a man who could be with her, not only for one night.

Yes, he wanted Donna. So stop lying to yourself like a little pussy, Specter, and just admit it. Preferably also admit it to her as well instead of chickening out every fucking time.

He straightens his shoulders, pours a finger of scotch in his glass to drink up a sip of courage, as he unquestionably wasn't on his A-game tonight, presumably he never even was on his A-game with her, ever. Because as she is Donna, she could read him like an open book, and if she doesn't like the content, she will slap the book close and subsequently throw it in his face.

He clears his throat, still burning from the scotch.

"Donna, I.."

"Yes, Harvey, are you about to tell me you don't own a normal t-shirt I can use to sleep in?"

Ok, the chicken out part is really something he has to work on.

"Sure I have normal t-shirts and of course you can use one. Follow me, milady." At least he can still manage to be charming, followed by a wide grin.

Harvey goes to his dressroom, right through the bedroom and bathroom, opens a drawer and pulls out his old Harvard t-shirt. Normally he never lets any of his affairs even touch this antique piece, not even Scottie, but for Donna, well, he just hopes she will get the hint.

"Here." He hands over the t-shirt, being reminisced back to highschool, allowing his girl to wear the baseball team jacket, outing her as his sweetheart.

"If you need some pants or boxers, they are in the top left drawer. The extra toothbrush is in the bathroom, in the cabinet under the sink, there should be a stash of them."

"Thank you."

She looks down on his precious t-shirt in her hands and softly smiles.

"I'll be out in no time, maybe you also have a pillow and some bedsheets for the couch?"

"Forget the couch, you stay here, I'll take the couch. No discussion!" Harvey makes clear as Donna was about to protest with a "But..."

"Good night, Donna." He has the urge to lean forward for a good night kiss but holds himself back at the last second, comprehending that it is not appropriate, not for her at least. He quickly turns around and leaves his bedroom, before he does something stupid that would irritate her.

As he is about to put the final touches on converting the chaiselongue into his night quarters, suddenly a phone rings. He reaches for his, but it's not his ringtone, the ring located somewhere near the couchtable. His eyes follow the direction, noticing one of Donna's Prada handbags, almost covered by the couch. He grabs it by the handle, retracting it from under the couch, when the still ringing cell phone falls out, as the bag wasn't totally zipped close. He can't help but notice the caller i.d., saying Mitch.

Disillusionment washes over him like ice cold splashes of water, he now can relate to the people who participated in the ice bucket challenge. He just totally forgot about that douche. Donna had a boyfriend, and Harvey has been this close to make his advances towards her, distinctly forcing her into the cheater position. No wonder she has been so resentful.

He senses Donna's footsteps approaching from behind, and he has a pretty good idea how odd this scenery must portray itself to her, him on one knee, holding her handbag, cell phone in front of him on the floor, still ringing.

"Its for you." attempting to defuse the awkwardness of the situation.

"Yes, I know. It's my phone." She reaches out for it, noticing the caller i.d. as well, her eyes instantly open wide from sudden realization.

"Oh." Oh my god I totally forgot, is all she can grasp before answering the phone, slowly heading backwards towards the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

"Oh hey Mitch!" How could she forget? "How was the trip?"

He was supposed to come over to her apartment after his business trip, and she was not home. Honestly not only she forgot about the date, but his whole existence.

"Yes, I know, I am really sorry, but a friend of mine is in trouble, so I'm spending the night over. I understand this is shitty, you standing in the middle of the night with flowers at my door and all, and yes I should have called, but it got late and your flight was delayed, and I really..."

Why is she even doing this? She is not sorry, and frankly, she doesn't give a rat's ass if he is mad or not.

"Look, I'm sorry you came all the way to my place after a stressful day and all, but my day was not better, so we talk tomorrow. Bye."

She hangs up before he can respond to that, his whining was already unnerving.

She tiptoes back into the living room, just to get the handbag before more compromising material falls out of it, like her emergency panties she almost used to remove the wine stain before, with a tiger printed on the backside, and _Little Tigress_ written on the front. Yes, that was something she would rather prefer to stay her cheesy secret.

"I suppose you came back for this."

Harvey swings the handbag from side to side, with an intimidatingly dirty smirk on his face.

"Thanks." she sharply replies, snatching for the bag.

He quickly holds it up, out of her reach, her being now sufficiently smaller than him without her 5 inch heels, wearing his Harvard t-shirt, covering only half her thighs. She takes a step back, arms crossed, head slightly to the side, annoyance written all over her features, stating "Harvey we are too old for this." her lips pressed together.

"So, what about this Mitch guy? He's still in the picture as I see?" he asks in his nastiest sounding tone.

"That's none of your concern, and now give me the bag." Donna snaps back.

"Trouble in paradise?"

"Harvey..." her voice a threat, her naked foot starts tapping on the floor as if she was about to lose the last drop of patience.

"You should get rid of this douche."

"How would you know he is a douche?" Donna, astonished about this whole sequence of events, vaguely shaking her head.

"I just know." He is not me, he adds silently in a corner of his thoughts.

"Oh god." He is jealous, she can see it all over his frown. "Please, just give me the bag and lets get some sleep, ok?" She decides to treat this with some diplomacy, as this conversation will lead nowhere nearly beneficial.

"Ok."

He hands over the bag, adding "No more tricks, I promise." as she doesn't show any intent of taking it.

"Have a good night, Harvey."

She walks out, pressing the bag against her chest, as she hears him say: "Good night, little tigress."

Shit.

* * *

Harvey wakes up as the first sunbeams emerge on the horizon, announcing dawn. He turns around again, trying to hide his face from the evolving brightness.

He surely just got a maximum of 2 or 3 hours of sleep at all, being frequently interrupted by him changing his sleeping position in order to find the most comfortable one. His head pounds slightly from all of the consumed alcohol, as he normally isn't a heavy drinker, yesterday being an exception due to, well, due to all that shit that happened, trying to drown his own incapacity of resolving any of it in an immense amount of liquor.

Thinking about it, he could use another scotch right now.

After several minutes, including more position changes, he decides to get up, facing the fact he was unable to fall asleep again. He reaches for his phone on the couch table, checking if he might have missed any calls during the short amount of time he actually was asleep. But no, no calls, not from Mike, not from Louis, nada.

Concluding that a coffee would be more accommodating in his current state, rather than another scotch, he goes over to the kitchen to get the water boiling, preparing the French press coffee maker in the meanwhile.

Equipped with a cup of the fresh brewed black coffee, he steps on the terrace, letting the cold air revive his senses, as he watches the sun rise, banishing the last manifestations of the night, hoping it would banish his recollections of last night as well.

Donna. Donna in his arms, his fingers wrapped in her hair, the freckles on her neck, her scent, her breath merging with his, Donna...getting a call from her boyfriend Mitch, this tool. He has to stop thinking about this, as it's leading nowhere. Besides the point that she has someone else. He also should focus on the task ahead, getting Mike out of this mess, instead of daydreaming about her fucking freckles.

He finishes his already lukewarm coffee in one last sip, before heading back inside, with the intent of taking a quick shower before organizing some breakfast as long as the girls were still sound asleep.

Harvey silently rushes through his still darkened bedroom, struggling with his yearning to take a more extended peek at Donna in his bed, but resists the temptation, reaching the bathroom without one single glimpse. He undergoes the shower procedure, still weary, but the combination of hot water on his skin and the caffeine in his blood improves the situation considerably.

Putting the bathrobe on, drying his hair with a towel, he risks a glance in the mirror, observing the results of his alcohol-soaked and sleepless night, as he perceives a movement in the mirrored image of his bed in the corner of his eyes. He turns around, an apology on his tongue for waking Donna up, but as he sees her, her bare feet uncovered by the blanket, her face covered by a red mess of hair, her eyes still half closed and dazed by the abrupt awakening, correlating with his, the deja-vu startles him to the bone, reminding him of the dream he had of her. Except now she had his Harvard t-shirt on, not being completely naked, and he was pretty sure Tanner wouldn't suddenly appear in his bed, too.

He can't help but just look at her, the urge to join the warmth of the bed beside her, burying his face in her tangled locks, conquer those soft, a bit swollen from sleep, rose coloured lips simply overwhelming.

"Harvey..." her voice an enigmatic but inviting whisper, her gaze alluring, her slightly parted lips seemingly begging for his attention, are pushing him over the edge to capitulate in withstanding the impulse.

* * *

Donna observes his face harden, his lips resolutely pressed together, the determination to finally act forming behind his eyes, yet she still doesn't revoke her decision.

She woke up to the sound of the shower, after what felt like 20 minutes of sleep, nauseous from the vast quantities of alcohol she consumed last night.

When she opened her eyes to take a look at her surroundings, she saw Harvey, standing in the bathroom door, perplexed and bewildered, staring at her, his features slowly exposing his aspiration. She tried to keep her breath steady although her heart basically was jumping up and down in her chest, his longing for her being undeniably written all over his face, allowing herself to become aware of her own, denied, repressed and concealed for so long, that giving into that appeared to be as hard as to jump out of a plane, with or even without a full functioning parachute, the result uncertain and unplannable, best case scenario being landing in a soft, stinking pile of pigshit.

Nevertheless, she heard herself whisper his name, undoubtedly an open invitation lingering in her undertone, his reaction immediate.

* * *

Harvey breathes in heavily as he directs his feet towards the bed, his steps fierce, his face resolute, not chickening out this time.

It may be all kinds of wrong but there is a fifty/fifty chance it may be all kinds of right. She wants him, too, he can distinguish that, and for all he knows, this Mitch character can go and fuck himself from now on. Not that he will ever lay his hands on Donna again, or he can wish his hands a farewell. Along with his nose and most likely some of his teeth, too.

Noticing a growing anticipation in the way she looks at him, a gentle smile softens the corners of his mouth, confirming his hopes and redeeming his doubts. In the end of the road, in his bed, in his life, there was Donna. Not as his secretary, but as his woman. The way it should have been from the start.

Suddenly at peace with himself and the universe, Harvey simply sits down on the corner of the bed, next to Donna, her eyebrows rising in confusion, until his hand finds its way to her face, tenderly striking her cheek, removing her gone astray strands of hair from her face. There is no rush now, no tension, no doubt.

He meant it when he said he loved her, nevertheless. He left her apartment that night, because he knew he could not just have meaningless sex with her, but at some point would give in and have sex with her anyway. That was not the way he wanted to handle things with her, not then, not now, not with Donna. This time, he would reconcile his feelings with his actions, finally being capable to do so.

His thumb brushes over her lips, tracing the contours, her hazel eyes giving him one last glimpse of permission before being shut, biding the collision.

He leans in, his hand wanders to her neck, his lips lingering above hers, and he knows, when they merge, there will be no return. A content smirk parts his lips, absorbing her features with his eyes, gratified with being where he belongs, before closing them, bringing his lips into line with hers, he can almost feel...

WHAT THE FUCK, his head rises and turns so abruptly to the slammed open door, he almost breaks it, the cracking sound it produces being proof enough.

"Rachel, wha..."

"Mike called."

* * *

Mike stares down at the phone in his hands, his thumb hovering above Harvey's number.

The detective left after releasing him from the handcuffs, but Mike was pretty sure he was still watching him through the one way mirror on the other side of the interrogation room.

He doesn't know why he hesitates to call Harvey, or how he even could break the news to him, the turmoil in his head keeps him from thinking straight.

He replays the whole day, again and again. How can this be happening when he was just about setting things right? Starting over, with a clean slate. Starting a new life, with Rachel, removing the shadow that has been darkening their future together.

He remembers Father Walker's words, that not even he can outsmart god, well, or consequences. Sometimes you have to accept your fate and simply deal with the consequences of your decisions. Trying to make better decisions in the future.

Yes, he made the right call to stop working as a lawyer. Yet, here he was, in this grey room, his wrists still marked from the handcuffs, still not calling Harvey, or anybody for that matter, wallowing in his own shit, no one to blame but himself, anyhow dragging the people he loves and cares about down with him.

He can't change his previous choices, leading him to end up here in the first place. But he can make the right call now, and stand to it, without letting anybody drown along with him, as far as he could have control over that.

His thoughts are interrupted by the detective opening the door.

"Son, you better make your call soon, or it will have to wait til tomorrow. We have to get you in the cell for the night, so you better hurry up there. Five minutes."

"Wait!" Mike takes a deep breath, preparing himself for the words that would seal his own fate, but hopefully not causing more damage than he already has for Harvey, and Rachel.

"I'm not gonna need to call my lawyer, but I would like to use my call first thing tomorrow morning. You can tell the DA that I'm going to represent myself in this case."


End file.
